UFC fighter Song Yadong has high hopes for the UFC Seattle as he plans to retire his opponent, Henry Cejudo.
Yadong and Cejudo will be headlining the UFC seattle in a bantamweight bout. Despite facing a former two-time division champion, Yadong is confident he will leave the octagon triumphant. Since his return in 2023, Cejudo has found it hard to withstand opponents in the cage and has suffered two straight losses. The fighter plans on redeeming himself in this bout but his opponent has other ideas for him. In an interview with MMA Fighting, Yadong says he plans on handing Cejudo his third loss.
“Yeah, I think if he lost this one, this is his last fight, the last round,” Song told MMA Fighting. “But I will win the fight. I believe this is his last one, [his] last fight.
“This will be the last fight in Seattle. Time is over, it’s time to retire.”
“[I’d feel bad a] little bit,” Song said. “Couldn’t hurt his microphone, you know. He’s a very interesting guy, I like him.”
The two fighters have had approximately the same number of octagon appearances despite the difference in age–Yadong being 27 and Cejudo 38. Although Yadong is confident about his victory, he doesn’t dismiss Cejudo’s accolades, as he has been vying to book a bout with the former champ for over a year.
“That’s what I [wanted],” Song said. “Last year, in May, I called him out. UFC wanted me to fight him in September, but he got injured and we finally got this one. Yeah, he’s a very good fighter — two-division UFC champion, Olympic champion, a lot of achievements. It’s an honor to fight him.”
“So if I win this fight, I have another chance to challenge the top 5,” Song explained. “If I win this one, give me top 5 fighters, for sure, [then] one more, two more, I will get a title shot.”
Song Yadong is 21-8-1 and one NC as a pro and coming off a decision loss to Petr Yan. The loss snapped his two-fight winning streak as he had beaten Chris Gutierrez and Ricky Simon. His opponent, Henry Cejudo, lost a close decision to then-champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288, then was on the wrong end of a more one-sided decision to now-champ Merab Dvalishvili nine months later at UFC 298 in February 2024.
